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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · spring · file · chip · stem · pitcher · bay · fall

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fall — to drop
  11. chip — for betting
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. spring — of water
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chip — to eat
  16. fall — the season
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. fall — to drop
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. spring — the season
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com